To End an Empire
by The Nameless Scribe
Summary: When Jax was reborn a slave, he decided really soon that he was going to fight for his freedom, but as a Sith? His fight may take far longer than expected. Star Wars S.I. SWTOR era. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

/

Slavery was the only thing I had ever known during my life of Nal Hutta, and it was all my family knew. I was a bastard child to a single mother who had spent her life pleasing Folbi the Hutt's guests. I guess I was lucky, I could have been reborn as a Cortosis miner or even a pleasure slave like my mother.

Instead I was used as a mechanic and programmer, making sure that Folbi's droids were up to snuff. Ever since I was a young boy, I had an affinity to technology that I never had in my past life. In my past life, I was a writer. I was a dreamer. I was in no way technologically gifted and actually broke a toaster once trying to fix it.

But I didn't question it. I used it. I used it to develop a network of informants and spies. The cleaning droids became my eyes and ears inside the guest quarters, the security droids became my informants, telling me who entered the palace and when. I may be a slave, but I had the knowledge and skills to change that.

And I would change that.

When I first woke up in this world, I thought things would be amazing, fantastic, superb! I was in the Star Wars universe! Sure, it was the Old Republic time period when Vitiate still wanted to eat the universe, but hey! Someone else would take care of that, right?

I was wrong.

Every dream I had of the Star Wars Universe were shattered as I watched my mother debase herself to pleasure some of the Hutts guests.

So I plotted. I let the rage I held inside of me simmer as I planned for the day we would kill the Hutt and leave, never to see Nal Hutta again.

I was seven when I started planning, plotting, waiting for the opportune time to strike.

I was twelve when I realized I was Force Sensitive.

I probably should have noticed it sooner, my almost uncanny ability to understand machines, my ability to sense danger, my ability to shrink into myself and almost seem to disappear from a persons notice even if they were looking right at me, even somewhat sensing the more Force attuned items that the Hutt's thugs would bring in.

Like that lightsaber crystal that I stole and stored in one of my droid's chassis.

I was working on one of Folbi's droids when one of the Hutt's men came in and started roughing me up, calling me names, tossing me around, nothing that hasn't been done before.

I was a slave after all, I wasnothing more than someone to lord their superiority over most days.

But then he started messing with my droids, and I freaked. I something happened to them under my care, Folbi would not be pleased and he would take his frustration out on me or my mother.

I refused for that to happen, so I snapped. I wanted him _away._

The resulting wall of force that slammed into him isn't what killed him, but the impact into the wall on the other side of the room did. A broken neck tends to be dangerous.

So I tweaked my plans.

Nothing big, nothing serious, but I did tweak my plans and I practiced.

If I had the Force, then I had the potential to do so much. I could use the force to lift stuff, to read minds, to kill Hutts…

I was seventeen when I finally killed Folbi.

It wasn't glamorous, it wasn't fancy, it was simple and to the point. As a Hutt, Folbi was often calling upon Bounty Hunters to take down high risk targets. More often then not, they would have at least one Vibroblade in their possession.

Stealing it was of little difficulty thanks to my veritable army of droids, and lodging it in the Hutts eye was something that would fuel my good dreams for weeks.

I thought I was in the clear. I had wiped the security cameras, I had made sure to use the Force when handling the blade so that I wouldn't leave anything that could be tracked back to me, I had even returned the knife to its owner before anyone in the palace had woken up.

It was foolproof.

Except… it wasn't.

Before I could return to the room I shared with my mom, I was approached by one of the Hutt's lieutenants, a human male with brown hair and green eyes.

Apparently he had been watching me for years and had suspected I was Force sensitive. As it turns out, he was an Imperial Spy, set out to keep an eye on the Hutt Cartel.

He gave me a choice, allow him to take me in peaceably where I would then be taken to Korriban to be trained as a Sith, or he would stun me and end up in the same place. If I came peacefully, he would ensure my Mothers safe passage to Dromund Kass where she would be given a job and a living wage.

So, I accepted.

And thus started my path to the Dark Side.

My Name is Jaxon Typho and this is how I went from being a Slave to being a Master of the Sith.

/

And scene.

Well, I've had this idea floating around my head for a while and only recently decided to actually write it. As you can probably tell, I'm in a Star Wars mood.

I hope you enjoy this prologue as the next chapter will be the start of his journey on Korriban.

Thanks for reading.

The Nameless Scribe.


	2. Meeting the Class

Chapter 2

/

Overseer Elden was a somewhat intimidating man, standing at a solid six feet tall with yellow eyes and broad shoulders, the Sith Pureblood looked like he could and would gut us where we stood if we so much as breathed in his presence.

"Welcome, Acolytes, to Korriban. I am Overseer Elden. You have been brought here for a single purpose… Become Sith." The Overseer started with a tone that could almost be seen as pleasant, completely throwing off the stern presence he was exuding. "The weak among you will perish, and the strong will use your bodies as stepping stones on their way to power. My job is to weed out those who will be used as the stepping stones."

Glancing at each one of us, though lingering longer on the Sith of our group before moving onto the others, he seems to weigh each of our strengths at a glance and almost immediately determine who would become the stepping stones and which would survive.

I just hoped I would be part of the second group.

Following the Overseers gaze, I look at my classmates and weigh their strengths and weaknesses myself. I may be proven wrong, but first impressions are everything.

There were six of us in total, Starting to my right was a Zabrak male with yellow skin and black tattoos that stood several inches taller than my own 5'8" frame. He was also a lot broader than me too and was wearing what looked to be slave clothes like myself, so he was probably in a similar position as me. To be honest, he reminded me of Savage Oppress from he Clone Wars TV show. Maybe not as buff and his horns weren't as long, but the image was there. He looked like a decent Marauder or Assassin, though that may be my love of Maul and his double sided lightsaber talking.

Beside him stood a human woman with dark skin and frizzy hair standing at around 5'4", she had hazel eyes tinged with yellow and a scar that went from her chin, over her mouth and left eye before stopping at her brow. She was wearing a grey tank top with black slacks and military grade boots. She also had a holster at her belt, but it was empty. Glancing at the Overseers belt, I could see why. Definitely interesting, considering she is military, seeing as she is Force Sensitive, I would have assumed she would have been picked up by now. Normally that would imply a lack of power or she is just really damn good at hiding. The second of which would make her a deadly assassin if she were to put her mind to it.

Next to her was the Sith, who seemed the most put together out of us. He eyed us all with a judging gaze as if to determine which of us was the greatest threat. His eyes seemed to land on me for a moment before dismissing me, moving on to the Zabrak. He was wearing a fancy blue robe with silver lining and a nice hood to protect himself from the sun. Most Sith were rather powerful in the dark side, and considering he looked to be influential, he had some training thus far. That made him dangerous.

On my other side was a Togruta female with purple skin and purple on white montrals. She was wearing what only can be described as a bikini.

Specifically the kind used when you were a pleasure slave…

I had seen plenty of them during my time in Folbi's palace to recognize it. She may have some experience in dancing, so she would be acrobatic. If she could integrate it into her fighting style, she would be a dangerous lightsaber combatant. Probably Marauder if she wasn't a Sorcerer.

Besides the Togruta stood a Kaleesh, wearing a bone mask over his face and a hood pulled up and over his head. Honestly, he looked like Xalek from the Inquisitor Storyline. Or at the least, he dressed the same. He was the tallest of us standing almost six and a half feet in height and he was also the broadest of us, bulging with muscles. He had a gleam in his eye that made me want to take a step back.

As a Kaleesh, he would also be a warrior, someone who respects strength and power. If I could show him I have more power than the Sith, he may join me.

Or he'd just try and kill me.

Either option was possible.

So two humans, a Zabrak, a Sith, a Togruta, and a Kaleesh.

Aren't we an interesting bunch?

"Now, follow me." The Overseer orders before leading us a little deeper into the building.

As we enter one of the first rooms we come across, we see a table set up holding six swords on its surface. Not Vibroblades or training swords like in the game, but actual swords. No electronic parts unfortunately, otherwise I may have been able to tweak it and make something a bit more useful. Next to each sword was a bag.

"Over the next several years, you will face a series of trials. This can include anything from searching the many tombs that litter Korribans surface, translating an ancient text, slaying a beast, or searching for an artifact of some sort." The Overseer explains as he eyes us. "These trials can be extremely dangerous, and the weak will perish."

Gesturing towards the table, he continues. "For now, these are the only pieces of equipment you will have access to for your first task. Each of you may take one of each now."

Glancing at one another, there was a brief hesitation to see who would be the first to collect their blade. This hesitation was quickly broken as the Sith strutted forward and collected a pack and a blade before returning to his spot. Following him was the Kaleesh and the Zabrak before everyone else went up to grab their own weapons and packs.

Once everyone had received a weapon and a pack, Overseer Elden gazed at us each before continuing.

"Now that that is over with, you have twelve hours to reach the Academy, those who fail to make it in the allotted time will be seen as an intruder and will be dealt with as such. Am I understood?"

With a chorus of nods and Yessirs, he nods at us in return.

"Good. Remember, Acolytes… You have twelve hours. I suggest you start moving, your timer started as soon as you arrived..." He says with an almost evil smirk.

And with that, we bolted.

/

Almost immediately, everyone split off to go their own way or to join in with one another in a group.

Military, or Milly as I mentally dubbed her, immediately went her own way, sword drawn and ready for a fight as she enters the tomb. I really wanted her on my side if possible. She would be extremely useful long term with her military training and skills. That is, if she was military at all.

Shortly after Milly entered, the Sith followed, eyeing us as if testing our worth before leaving us and entering the tomb, the Kaleesh following him shortly afterwards, jogging to catch up. I guess he deemed the Sith a decent threat or a possible ally… That was something to watch out for. As much as I wanted them on my side, odds were that the Sith would ignore me or deem me insignificant if I just lay low. It was almost a certainty that he wouldn't become an underling or even a partner if I offered it. As a Sith, he is too prideful. The Kaleesh on the other hand was a Warrior from a warrior race. He would follow the strong and kill the weak. Considering Overseer Elden kept looking at the other sith, I'd bet that the Kaleesh sees him as a threat to put down or an ally to gain.

Soon after, the Zabrak entered the tomb. He was the quietest of us all, and really reminded me of Savage Oppress, albeit not nearly as buff. I knew nothing about him whatsoever except that he was once a slave. Maybe I can use that, maybe I can't, but regardless, I needed allies and he and the Togruta were my safest bets.

The Togruta was the weakest out of all of us, not to say she was worthless, but Togruta's in general were not known for their strength in the force, just the sheer amount of Force Sensitives they produced. Regardless, she is here on Korriban, so either the Sith don't care and they want to use her for something else, or she is exceptional in some way.

I would need to keep an eye on them all, whatever may happen.

However, in order to do that, I had to make it to the academy.

Yay…

Gripping my sword tightly in my hand, I ignore the K'lor'slugs around me and simply walk into the tomb.

/

The Tomb itself was surprisingly dark compared to the outside, so it took a few minutes for my eyesight to adjust. Luckily I had very few issues once I was inside. Sure, I almost fell down the stairs, and sure in doing so I accidentally may have bumped into a couple K'lor'slugs, but c'mon. It's not like I died or anything.

That being said, it did slow me down and force me to be aware of my surroundings. I was just grateful the K'lor'slugs in question were just some scouts and relatively easily dispatched of.

Besides those however, there were no incidents as I carefully made my way down the stairs and into the large open hallway that looked to be about the size of a football field in size and about fifty meters high from floor to ceiling.

"Holy crap..." I mutter as I gaze around the room. If you ignored the infestation of K'lor'slugs, it would be impressive, reminding me of the old castle ruins you would see in England or something like that.

It took me a moment to realize something however…

There weren't any soldiers or Sith waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me.

I could have sworn that was one of the first missions you get in the game… I mean, sure. I wasn't Nox or whatever his name was, and I wasn't being sent to talk with the Hermit dude, so it was entirely possible that the soldiers weren't yet stationed here, or alternatively, they're long gone.

Still, as soon as I agreed to come to Korriban, I had planned on this meeting so that I may get myself some allies quick.

Sighing, I kick the dirt in frustration.

"Guess that plan is out."

Glancing at the wandering K'lor'slugs, I groan.

So much for borrowing a blaster to deal with this.

Gripping my sword tightly in my hand, I eye the largest of the monsters and I do what I have learned to do after years under Folbi's service.

Shut the fuck up and don't be seen.

Fighting the slugs would only slow me down at this point. Sure I could beat some of them up, but that would be useless in the long run. Besides, if I really wanted to kill them, I would probably get my chance in the future.

So, I carefully snuck through the halls of the Tomb of Ajunta Pall and did my best to remain as quiet and stealthy as physically possible.

I ducked through corridors, sprinted through long stretches, and I would use the force to toss rocks and force the slugs to look the other way long enough for me to escape.

So far that worked.

I even passed up the Zabrak facing three of the slugs at once.

He seemed to be handling himself rather well...

I'm sure he'd be fine.

"AAAGH!" A scream echoes through the tomb after I passed up the Zabrak. It sounded like it came from not too far ahead of me.

Rushing forward, but careful to stay in the shadows, I dart through the tomb and up a set of stairs to come face to face with the Togruta being overwhelmed by six of the slugs. Her weapon was on the floor and her back was pushed up against the wall as she tried kicking and punching at them.

Life debts seem to make people loyal…

Summoning her sword from where it lay, I use the Force to hurl it at the biggest monster, pushing the blade through its skull before ripping it out again. Focusing on the blade, I twist it and thrust forward into the skull of a second.

By this point, the other four slugs noticed something was up and started coming at me, leaving the Togruta alone as I was the bigger threat.

Drawing my own sword, I drop hers at her feet and get into a ready stance.

Or at least, what I think is a ready stance as I haven't actually had any training yet in either life.

"A little help would be nice." I say as I block a bite from one of the slugs.

Jerking from her stupor, she picks up her sword and glances at me for a moment as if to decide her options before glancing at the exit.

Stabbing through one of the slugs, I jump back to avoid a slash from another but get blindsided by the third, knocking me to the ground before jumping on my chest. I could barely get my blade up in time to block its mouth from eating my face.

"Any day now!" I growl as I try to push it back, the other two slugs nipping at my feet and legs.

Suddenly, the Slug stopped fighting me and seemingly collapsed. With a screech the other two slugs seemed to lurch back in shock before charging their new opponent.

Pushing the now dead slug off my person, I throw my sword at one of the slugs as she dispatches the other.

Standing to my feet, I summon my sword back to me and eye her for a moment.

"Allies?" I ask as I extend a hand.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asks as she looks at me and my extended hand in distrust.

"If I wanted you dead, I'd have let the K'lor'slugs finish you off." I reply with a shrug. "Besides that though, you can't."

As she continues to question whether or not it was a good idea to ally herself with me, I just keep talking.

"Look at it this way, we have a greater chance of reaching the Academy if we teamed up. You were nearly slug food, and unfortunately, so was I. We can help each other out."

After another moment, she nods and grasps my arm.

"Fine, but this isn't permanent. As soon as we reach the Academy… I don't know, but I guess we'll find out then."

Shaking, I gesture for her to follow as we slip back into the deeper shadows and continue towards where I assumed the exit was.

"So, how did you do that thing? With the sword?" She asks me as we carefully continue our trek, carefully avoiding any slugs in our way.

"You mean using the Force to stab the K'lor'slugs with it?" I whisper back.

"Yeah, I didn't think any of us would have any training before we got here?"

Ducking into another hallway, I think I can see someone at the end of it trying to determine which way to go before sprinting in a random direction.

Gesturing for her to follow, we run down the corridor before I answer.

"I worked with tools a lot, sometimes I needed to get to a bolt that I just couldn't reach. Once I found out I was force sensitive, I practiced enough to where I could manipulate my tools to work on projects."

A partial truth, as I had actually used my tools to practice summoning things and to manipulate them without my touching them.

What I didn't say was that I could take a droid apart and put it back together with a blindfold on and my hands tied using only the Force.

I could never move heavy stuff that well, but I sure as hell made up for it in the fine control areas. I probably could have been more skilled than I was now, but to be honest, I had no idea I was going to be a Sith. I sure as hell never planned on it.

Choosing a random path, we continue.

"You were a mechanic?" She asks as she grabs me by my collar and pulls me back before a couple of K'lor'slugs saw me.

"Sort of?" I reply as I rub my neck where the collar had dug into my skin. "I was the slave of a Hutt named Folbi. He saw I was decent with droids, so he had me keep his droids in tip top condition. After learning of the Force, I just started practicing with it. Sure helped with my fine control. Didn't help him when I decided I liked freedom moreso than slavery."

"I was a slave as well, to a pirate named Kordasa. He and his crew were… Not nice." She says as we watch the slugs crawl on by. "I was able to persuade them to let me go before I convinced them to walk out the airlock."

"Damn..." I mutter as I eye her in a new light. Either this Kordasa was extremely weak minded or she was far more powerful than I had originally given her credit for. "Impressive. Mind if I have a name to put to the face?"

Glancing at me a moment, she answers.

"Saraa. Saraa Ni."

"Jaxon Typho." I reply, extending another hand to shake.

Glancing at my hand like I was an idiot, she shakes her head and runs by me, taking the lead.

"Okay then..." I mutter as I follow.

I guess on the bright side, I now had a nice view.

/

And Chapter 2 is DONE! yay! Sort of intro to Jax's new classmates and we get ourselves an Ally!

Next chapter, the ACADEMY!

Hope you enjoy!

The Nameless Scribe


	3. An Interesting Alliance

Chapter 3

/

To Random Reader: Right now I am focusing on my Star Wars fics. The reason being is that right now thats where my mind is. I may eventually return to Alex Osborn or my other fics, but right now its Star Wars.

I do plan on redoing my Spider-Man fic "Of Spiders and Heroes" at some point in the future, but right now I'm on a Star Wars Binge

Sorry if that upsets anybody.

Also, thanks to LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor and VladTheImpaler for helping me with this chapter.

Anyway, on with the chapter.

/

The Tomb of Ajunta Pall was far larger than I remember it being in the Star Wars: The Old Republic. Far darker and far more threatening as well. Though considering this is the tomb of essentially the first Sith Lord, it really shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Togruta and I had been walking for about four hours or so since our first meeting, and thus far we hadn't tried to backstab one another. As much as I dislike it, I am basically useless without my tech, and while Saraa wasn't the strongest of the group, she had potential to grow stronger if what she said about the pirates was true.

Speaking of, weren't there pirates or scavengers down here? If I remember correctly, the game had me fighting them and collecting some artifacts that they stole or something along those lines. There should have been Soldiers as well, but that was quickly proven incorrect when I entered the tomb.

Unless there were Soldiers in here at some point… Logically there should have been, and there had to have been a few who had either died because of some K'lor'slugs, cave ins, or just by getting lost…

Which means there tech should be here.

I am such an idiot…

As we walk, I extend my senses as far as they could. Back when I was with Folbi, I could somewhat sense technology and control it at a distance. I only did it in the most subtle of ways, keeping cameras pointed away from me for example. At first I could only do that to droids or tools across the room. By the time I left, I had almost complete control of any and all of the droids and cameras in Folbi's estate.

There! It was weak, broken, but it was something.

"Wait… I think I can feel something." I mutter as I catch her arm to keep Saraa from moving any farther.

"If it were something living, I'd have sensed it first. There's nothing there." She cuts back as she yanks her arm out of my grip.

"No, nothing living, something else. Something useful." I reply as I grab her again and drag her down another hallway.

We had been running down hallway after hallway for almost five hours at this point. We had at some point passed the Zabrak and the Kaleesh in the middle of fighting some of the slugs, but we had yet to see the Pureblood or Milly.

"What are you talking about?" She scowls as I drag her down a couple of hallways and into a large chamber.

"Just trust me on this." I reply as I let go of her arm and start jogging towards one of the larger piles of rubble. I could sense something… Something that may give us an edge.

Digging through it a bit, I draw out a blaster pistol, a scouting droid that looked like a smaller version of the probe droid in Episode 5, a knife, and a few bits of abandoned supplies and some trooper armor.

"What are you doing?" Saraa huffs as I dig through the rubble, making sure I don't miss anything. "In case you forgot, we have a time limit."

"I'm trying to give us an advantage." I cut back as I stand back up and toss her some of the armor before tweaking the busted droid, taking some plates off, integrating the blaster, modifying the chassis & fixing the repulsors…

Pulling on some gloves and a vambrace, she watches me as I mold the pieces with the Force, something I had been doing almost since I learned I had the Force.

"How are you doing that?" asked the intrigued togruta.

"A little trick I picked up." I answer as I stand up and dust myself off. Grabbing the other vambrace, the one with a, thankfully, unbroken monitor on it and power it up after a bit of fiddling.

"Okay, with the modifications, it should be able to scan for life forms and eliminate them before they become an issue for us." I explain as I tap the screen a few times, inputting commands, and watching it float up to eye level.

"Life forms? How do we know it won't just shoot us?" said Saara backing of a few feet

"Because I'd like to think I'm not that stupid." I reply with a shrug. "I made sure it would only attack the K'lor'slugs. Anything else I'd have to tweak the parameters I set. Possible, but annoying to do on such short notice."

Glancing between the droid and myself, she seems to accept that I'm not going to shoot her in the back. "Then are you ready to go?"

Grabbing the chestpiece of the armor and strapping it on, I nod and order the droid to fly forward and keep an eye out.

"As ready as I can be..."

/

With the scout droid acting as reconnaissance, we were able to pick up our pace. Luckily the K'lor'slugs weren't blaster proof, unlike some of the other creatures on this planet, but in the short term it'll do.

With our newfound help, it only took us another hour of running down hallways, up stairs and around corners until we found an exit to the Academy.

The Academy itself was impressive. Mountainous and in the shape of a massive pyramid built on the back of a pair of slaves, despite its dusty exterior, it looked the part of an academy of the Sith and headquarters for the Dark Council.

Besides a pair of guardsmen stopping us at the doors that were quickly convinced to _move _thanks to Saraa's less than subtle use of Force Persuasion, we were able to get in, stopping only to get directions to Elden's office.

Overseer Elden merely raised an eyebrow at the scout droid floating in after us, but otherwise said nothing after setting his datapad down and pressing his fingers together, eyeing us both for a few moments.

"It appears congratulations are in order… Very few acolytes survive the first task, and even fewer join forces to do so." He says before summoning the scout droid over to him. "And fewer still possess the ability to surprise me."

Eyeing the droid for a few minutes, he hands it back, still eyeing the both of us.

"An interesting modification, albeit a crude one that will fail given time. I am to assume by the armor you are wearing, you found one of our missing soldiers?"

"That is correct, Sir." I reply with a nod. "We found him buried under some rubble. Unfortunately, he had been down there for some time and was dead before we found him. Since he wasn't using it, we relieved him of his armor, supplies, and equipment and used them for ourselves."

Moments passed as he examined us, no doubt with the Force as well as his normal senses, before he finally spoke.

"I must admit, despite my initial misgivings, you have both done well. You were able to make an alliance between the two of you, make it through Ajunta Pall's tomb with few discernible injuries, and arrive before half of your class." He says. "Credit where credit is due for showing some capacity for intelligence."

Glancing at Saraa for a moment, I mentally reel at the compliment.

This was Korriban, right? He was a Sith?

I was under the impression that compliments were one of the things Sith didn't do?

It seemed as if she was equally surprised as her head tails were twitching slightly and her eyes had widened considerably.

"As you have succeeded in your task, you may spend the next seven hours, or until the rest of the Acolytes return, as you wish. Quarters in the dormitories have been prepared for your use." He explains. "When the other Acolytes arrive or the twelve hours are up, you will be contacted via the datapads waiting for you in your quarters. You are dismissed."

With a nod, we turn and leave to our respective quarters.

/

Our quarters were organized in pairs, unsurprising really. Get allies or get a bad case of back stabbed real fast. It looked like Saraa was paired with Milly whereas I was paired with the Zabrak. That left the Pureblood and the Kaleesh.

Gesturing for her to follow, I bring her into my room and close the door behind us before taking a short look around.

The room itself was surprisingly comfortable, with an adjoining refresher with a toilet and shower combo. The room itself wasn't incredibly spacious, reminding me of a college dorm more than anything, with a desk and chair pushed against the wall next to the bathroom door and the bunk beds across from that.

Tossing the droid onto my bunk and leaning my sword against the wall next to the desk, I take a seat at the desk and turn to face her. Sensing something in the walls, I focus on that feeling a moment before mentally smirking. It seems as if the Acolytes were being watched… Smart.

Looping the footage, I return my attention to the Togruta who had leaned against the closed door.

"I have a proposition for you..." I start.

"Just a reminder..." I raise an eyebrow at Saara interrupting me "I just managed to free myself from being a bed slave to a gang of pirates, so be careful how you use the word proposition" Saara said with a raised eyebrow and no small amount of sass.

Conceding the point, I nod. "While I admit you are beautiful, I am more concerned with my continued survival at the moment then your potential as a bed warmer."

"Then please, continue." she said as she waved her hand invitingly.

"I would like to keep this alliance between us going. Alone, we face an ex-soldier, a Kaleesh who comes from a warrior race, a Sith Pureblood who I have no doubt has had some sort of training in the Force, and a Zabrak. The only one of those who doesn't automatically put me on edge is the Zabrak, but that doesn't mean I discount him."

Picking up one of the datapads for a moment, I start taking it apart. For some reason, fiddling with electronics and tech like this has always calmed me down…

"So what? The two of us are supposed to be able to take all of them down?" the Togruta scoffs. "When you put it like that, you make it sound so easy."

"Any of the others would more than likely use you for your body and me for my tech knowledge or as a meat shield." I explain with a shrug. "I've heard rumors of Sith who delve too deep into the darkside who go absolutely insane, so in time they may decide to just kill us."

"My confidence in our survival is dropping into single digits with your rousing speech." she drawls as she crosses her arms.

"No, that's not..." I sigh. "They're idiots, okay? They would completely waste both of our potentials. You told me that you convinced an entire crew of pirates to just walk out the airlock, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Most Force Sensitives can do that, but not to that extent and not without training." I explain. "That's impressive. With training, you could theoretically enthrall armies, tell entire fleets to flee, and who knows what else. Allying with the others would reduce you to no more than a slave or a tool."

Eyes widening, she steps back for a moment as if recentering herself before furrowing her brows at me.

"And what about you? What do you offer to this arrangement? You said you were good with tech, is that it?"

"I'm a bit more than good." I reply as I finish tweaking the Datapad. I had incorporated most of the pieces into my wristmounted datapad, allowing me to use the wristmounted one as my main datapad while the remaining pieces were turned into a crude vibroblade.

"I'm really good. I haven't had a chance to experiment much, life under a Hutt doesn't offer that, but I'm able to use the force to build droids, reprogram existing droids, hack datapads, basically anything doing with technology, I can do. I could gain access to the entire security system and know what everyone is doing, I could reprogram the training droids and have them act as bodyguards. Obviously not that last one as the Overseer would be less than impressed, but the point remains."

"That's… That could be useful." She tries to stay calm, but I can see the gears turning in her mind.

"With enough parts and the proper components, I could even build a lightsaber..." I idly comment.

"Alright, say I agree. You say that you will help me become more powerful… How do you plan on doing that?"

"By letting you study." I reply with a shrug. "While I wouldn't be able to teach you personally, I could find the information you need in the Archives rather easily. The others would merely hinder you, force you down as they take power for themselves. I refuse to do that. Why would I want that? All that would achieve is you resenting me, and if you ever do become as powerful as I've predicted, that would only spell bad news for me."

"Alright, fine." She finally says as she offers a hand to shake. "I accept your proposition."

Standing up, I notice that I am only a little bit taller than she is. Taking her hand, I smile and shake her hand.

"Then it's a deal."

/

After a quick shower, which felt absolutely divine, I start taking the droid apart once more. The droid itself is decent, but it's mass produced. More often than not, it can be improved on. What I did in the tomb was crude and kind of useless for anything more than a distraction. I may as well strapped a vibroknife to its side and hope for the best.

Using the force, the pieces of the droid flow around me, the metal twisting into the shape I want, the parts fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. The blaster itself coming apart only to be put back together, stronger, before fitting back into the droid itself. Soon enough, it was done.

It wasn't much, but over time I could either replace or upgrade it. In the short term though, it gave me a set of eyes outside the academy.

Activating it, I use the force to open the vent and send it through.

Let's just hope it survives…

/

Holidays were tough. Here's the next chapter!


End file.
